【主讲】香港城市大学高级研究助理邓弘林

【题目】降低用户对赞助搜索结果的规避：社会影响线索的作用

【时间】2017年4月13日 (周四)15:30-17:00

【地点】清华经管学院 伟伦楼513

【语言】英文

【主办】管理科学与工程系

Honglin Deng, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate, City University of Hong Kong: Reducing User Avoidance of Sponsored Search Results: The Effects of Social Influence Cues

【Speaker】Honglin Deng, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate, City University of Hong Kong

【Title】Reducing User Avoidance of Sponsored Search Results: The Effects of Social Influence Cues

【Time】April 13, Thursday, 15:30-17:00

【Venue】Room 513, Weilun Building, Tsinghua SEM

【Language 】English

【Organizer】Department of Management Science and Engineering

【Abstract】People have been debating the effectiveness of sponsored search results (SSR) in the online market over the years. E-vendors think it is a powerful method to increase their products’ exposure while consumers often avoid clicking on these sponsored search results. Though a few studies in both information systems and marketing have approached the SSR avoidance from different perspectives, we have not yet achieved a clear understanding of the SSR avoidance itself and the underlying nature of such avoidance. In this study, we first identified three types of avoidance behaviors – *attentional*, *behavioral*, and *affective*– that may exist when users are presented with sponsored search results. Next, relying on an overarching theoretical framework (i.e., implicit theory), we examine how we may reduce these three types of avoidance behaviors by utilizing different types of social influence cues. Two experiments are conducted to test the effectiveness of (1) product-related influence cues (i.e., popularity cues and quality cues) and (2) sponsor-related cue (i.e., credibility cue). Findings from this research suggest that social influence cues can indeed reduce SSR avoidance in general. In particular, product-related cues are more effective under the /matching/ condition where the presented cues match with consumer’s active concerns on the SSR as compared to the /mis-match/ condition; sponsor-related cue has similar effects in both /matching /and /mis-matching/ conditions (we term it /spill-over/ effects). These results advance our understanding in SSR avoidance and the effectiveness of social influence cues, especially when people already have negative valence reactions to the target IT artifact (i.e., SSR avoidance).

【Bio】Honglin Deng is a senior research associate in the Department of Information Systems at the City University of Hong Kong. His research interests include online trust, sponsored search, e-commerce and user behavior. He mainly adopts experimental methods in his research.